The Xi’an International Football Centre is a new stadium built in Fengdong New City, Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province in the north-western part of China.
An international design competition for building the football stadium was announced by the local government of Xi’an in 2020.
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Several international architecture practices including IDOM, OMA, Creative Prototyping Unit and ZHA proposed their architectural designs and concepts.
ZHA won the competition and presented the final design for the stadium in August 2020.
The new stadium is designed to host national and international football matches along with domestic league games. It is also used for training academies, as well as entertainment and cultural events.
Construction of the stadium started in 2020, and the main body and structure were completed in November 2021.
The Xi’an International Football Centre hosted its inaugural international matches for the 2026 Asian Cup Group D qualifiers for China’s National U-23 team in October 2025.
Location
The Xi’an International Football Centre is located within the orthogonal street grid of the Fengdong district in Xi’an and is accessible via stations on Line 16 of the city’s expanding metro system.
Xi’an International Football Centre details
The Xi’an International Football Centre spans 239,000m² (2.5 million square feet) and has a seating capacity of 60,000. It was developed in line with the standards set by the Federation Internationale de Football Association and the Asian Football Confederation for international football matches.
The stadium also features public areas, recreation and dining facilities in a series of shaded south-facing garden terraces, which provide views of the city and Qing Mountain.
Plants were incorporated on all levels of the terraces and public concourses. The football centre is equipped with 41 elevators and 52 escalators.
Design details
The stadium features a saddle-shaped seating bowl, which was designed using digital modelling to provide an optimised view from all the seats.
The roof is designed with an ultra-lightweight, long-span cable-net structure to reduce load and material footprint. The unique design also incorporates wide roof overhangs to protect the facilities within the building.
A translucent membrane over the seating bowl protects from sunlight and inclement weather conditions, while allowing natural light in the stadium to provide optimum conditions for the growth of grass on the playing surface.
Additionally, the stadium’s facade is designed to protect the stadium from the northerly winds that sweep through the city each winter.
Contractors involved
The stadium was designed by ZHA, a British architecture and design practice, in collaboration with executive architect Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research (AISA) and local architect Intelligent Design for Emerging Architecture.
Architectural facade consultant FORCITIS Architectural Technology and architectural design and engineering company Zhejiang Yasha Curtain Wall provided facade engineering services.
AISA, structural engineering and consulting company Schlaich Bergermann Partner and Qiang Chang collaborated as the lead structural engineers for the stadium project.
Engineering and fire consulting company Tianjin TEDA Fire Technology and AISA were appointed as the fire engineers.
AISA was also the acoustic and landscape consultant and the mechanical, electrical and plumbing and mechanical & electrical consultant, while Clive Lewis and CNS Group were the stadium consultants.
Lichtvision Design, a lighting consultant based in Germany, was responsible for artificial lighting for the stadium.
Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group, a construction and engineering contractor, served as the general contractor for the project.
Hitachi Elevator (China), part of Hitachi, was contracted to provide elevators and escalators for the project, while QSTECH, an LED display solutions supplier, provided LED screens.
SD Road Machinery, a construction equipment supplier based in China, was contracted to provide tower cranes for the construction of the Xi’an International Football Centre.
